Who was St Valentine, and why do our thoughts turn to romance on 14 February? It was not until Chaucer (1343-1400) asserted that Valentine’s is the day on which birds mate that the day became associated with romantic love.
14 February originally commemorated a priest, Valentine, put to death for his Christian faith. There are a number of saints of that name, but the one who connects to lovers is the Valentine who conducted ‘illegal’ weddings, in the reign of Claudius II (late 3rd century), who, allegedly, forbad Roman soldiers to marry.
Valentine is said to have conducted the marriages of soldiers and their sweethearts before the soldiers went to war. For this he was executed.
Deeper in Western antiquity, Plato in his Symposium (c. 380 BC) considers the claim that army units made up of same-sex couples are more resilient than other units because the lovers fight to protect each other.
The Sacred Band of Thebes (4th century BC) was an elite military unit made up of 150 same-sex couples, and its prestige and prowess influenced contemporary attitudes to ‘gays in the military’.
Although Roman civilisation did not value same-sex pair-bonding as Greek culture did, it seems that Roman soldiers did not generally marry. Claudius II never issued the edict forbidding soldiers to marry, but in practice they tended not to: long years away from home were not conducive to wife and family.
In Christian (late) antiquity the practice of adelphopoiesis (‘brother-making’), the ‘wedding’ of a same-sex pair with vows under God, is an area much debated. John Boswell in his Same Sex Unions in Premodern Europe (Villard, 1994) argued, at least, that same-sex couples used this convention to disguise what were in fact consummated same-sex relationships.
The 4th century soldiers Bacchus & Sergius (pictured) were knit together by adelphopoiesis. They were martyred; not for being a same-sex couple, but for being Christians.
On Sunday 14 February St George’s Cathedral and The Treasury Hotel, adjacent heritage buildings on St George’s Terrace, collaborate to offer couples (same-sex or mixed; military or civilian) an exquisite Valentine’s evening. 5pm Choral Evensong of St Valentine, sung by St George’s Cathedral Consort, is followed by a champagne reception on the lawn of the newly-opened Cathedral Square. Evensong and Reception are free. Thereafter couples may take advantage of the special Valentine’s menus in either of The Treasury’s two award-winning restaurants: Wildflower and Post.
For information and bookings visit perthcathedral.org
Graham Napier
